7 Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating from an Herbalist
Healthy holiday eating tips from herbalist Juliet Blankespoor, with simple practices to support digestion, peaceful mealtimes, and a nourishing relationship with food throughout the season.
Herbal Teas
Juneteenth Hibiscus Ginger Iced Tea Recipe: A Drink of Remembrance
June 19th is a day to honor the legacy of freedom hard-won and long-delayed—a celebration of resilience, remembrance, and the unyielding spirit of those who endured. Over time, red foods became central to Juneteenth celebrations, representing the bloodshed of ancestors and the tenacious spirit of a people who refused to be erased. Hibiscus tea served warm or cold, with its deep crimson hue, remains a staple drink at Juneteenth gatherings, a reminder of connections to African roots.
Isis Hibiscus Sun Tea Recipe
The following is an excerpt from Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz’s book, Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera, taken from the “Fire” chapter. It’s an easy recipe for iced hibiscus tea using fresh mint (Mentha spp.) and dried rose petals (Rosa spp.), harnessing the power of the Sun. She calls it Isis Sun Tea. The main ingredient in Isis Sun Tea are the calyces of the Hibiscus sabdariffa shrub, also known as roselle or by its common name, hibiscus.
Pride & Healing: The Flowers We Request
Happy Pride! This blog post serves as an accompaniment to our month-long LGBTQ2+ Pride month series that has been posted weekly to Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine’s Instagram page throughout the month of June. The series, The Flowers We Request: Pride & Healing, has been written by Brydie (they/them) and Sarah (she/her/ella).
How to Grow an Herbal Tea Garden
Do you already love drinking herbal tea? Are you getting most or all of your herbs from the store or online? Then maybe it’s time to call in your own herbal tea garden! You don’t need a big yard or even a yard at all.
Herbal Tea Ceremonies
Herbal Tea Ceremonies are a delightful way to find beauty in the everyday. By slowing down and getting to better know our plant allies, we can simultaneously open up to heartfelt connection with ourselves and/or others. Making the time and space to hold your own personal herbal tea ceremony—or with a friend, your family, or a group—is a low-impact, simple act of pleasure that can lift the vibe of any day!
The Medicine of Pine
There are over one hundred species of pine worldwide, and most have recorded medicinal uses. Cultures around the globe have used the needles, inner bark, and resin for similar ailments.
Goldenrod Tea: An Herbal Blend for Urinary Tract Infections
Need to get your urinary tract back on track? This tea blend is helpful for addressing the symptoms and the root cause (primarily, bacterial infection) of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Herbal Digestive Calendula Tea: A Remedy for Heartburn and Peptic Ulcers
If you’re looking for an herb to soothe and repair digestive issues, the cheery flowers of calendula (Calendula officinalis) will be one of your primary allies. Calendula tea is commonly used to help remedy peptic ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The Healing Benefits of Gotu Kola: An Edible and Medicinal Herb
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica, Apiaceae) has been a legendary herb in India and China for over two thousand years, where it’s considered to be one of the best herbs for promoting clarity, focus, and a peaceful, calm nature.